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American Dairy Coalition Calls on President Trump to Liquidate Cheese Surplus

The American Dairy Coalition (ADC) is calling on President Trump to liquidate the national cheese surplus, citing a reduction in cheese exports to China by nearly 65% and to Mexico by more than 10%.

ADC is made up of about 100 large, progressive dairies, six affiliate dairy organizations and about two dozen industry companies.

”Currently, 1.4 billion pounds. of American, cheddar and other types of cheese are sitting in cold storage facilities throughout the U.S. With the price of milk at a record low, it is necessary that this surplus be liquidated to jump start the industry,” the group writes to Trump. It also notes that some 40 million Americans struggle with food insecurity. The letter is signed, “The Working Dairy Farmers of the United States.”

The full text of the letter follows:

Dear President Trump:

We, the dairy farmers of the United States are in a crisis. As each week passes, an increasing number of hard-working dairy families are going out of business. Many of us feel helpless and we struggle to support our families — some have even required food stamps to put food their tables. We very much appreciate your recent assistance, but we need milk prices to rise. We want to become profitable, but due to the uncertainty created by lingering retaliatory tariffs, we only see a slight — if any — rebound anytime soon.

Our milk price has dropped nearly 40% over the last 4 years. Cheese exports from the U.S. to Mexico are down more than 10% annually and shipments to China have fallen almost 65% annually. If this isn’t bad enough, the industry faces onerous and costly dairy regulations, as well as a shortage of workers — making it hard to find a way each day to stay in business.

Despite assistance to offset the negative impacts of milk prices due to the implementation of tariffs with Mexico, Canada and China, more action is needed. Currently, 1.4 billion pounds. of American, cheddar and other types of cheese are sitting in cold storage facilities throughout the U.S. With the price of milk at a record low, it is necessary that this surplus be liquidated to jump start the industry. It is estimated that 40 million Americans struggle with hunger and food insecurity. Stored dairy in the form of cheese provides an excellent source of nutrition for families who do not know where their next meal will come from.

The U.S. dairy products industry supports nearly 3 million workers, and each year generates more than $39 billion in direct wages and has an overall economic impact of more than $628 billion. The diets and the jobs of countless Americans depend on the success of the dairy industry to provide an important nutritional staple at an affordable price. Please help us by helping food insecure families across the nation.

Comments

This is only a part of the solution. The supply will grow again because dairy farmers can make as much milk as they want. Commercial disappearance - domestic and export- is not keeping pace with milk production. The cold storage report for 2017 also showed 1.2 billion pounds of cheese in storage for this time you year. Tariffs are a problem but the bigger problem is too much supply and not enough demand and ever growing stocks. It may be time to really discuss market stabilization - bringing milk supply closer in line with demand domestically as well as internationally!

What is the breakdown of where the cheese is held? My understanding is it is mostly in private control, not government program storage. Therefore, it's not governments place to be able to do anything rational about it.Looking at the world prices, there is a recession in place. The US just happens to be the highest price loser in the dairy game .

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The mission of Farm Journal's MILK is to connect with large-dairy producers—those with 500 or more cows—and provide them with the information and resources they need to run their operation and continue to expand opportunistically.